Read Tales from the Front (Air Awakens Bonus #1) for Free Online

Soricium. Yes, that young woman, the one he was nearly certain was the Windwalker and yet no one would confirm nor deny.
    It was so irksome.
    “Brother.” Erion let a little slur slip into the word, giving the impression that he was equally sauced. “You’re not yourself this night. Usually your return is more joyous. Tell me what’s heavy on your brow.”
    “But I am joyous.” Baldair tapped Erion’s mug with his, taking another sip. “For I have returned to find that you and Jax have yet to burn down the place.”
    “Burning is more Jax’s fashion.” Much to the lament of his own family , Erion mused. Erion should have been born a Firebearer to continue the Le’Dan line.
    “Too true!” Baldair gave a full bellied laugh. “And he is rather wild with it.”
    “You are not one to talk when it comes to being wild.” Erion smirked. “Tell me, when will you put the others aside and just take Raylynn for a bride.”
    “She does not want it, and neither do I.”
    “So you claim, but you spend an awful lot of time together.”
    “Time does not mean marriage.” Baldair slung an arm around Erion’s shoulders. It was a heavy but familiar weight. Erion was far closer to the prince than he was his elder brother by blood. “Affection for affection’s sake is also possible.”
    “And now you sound Eastern.” Erion shook his head in amusement. The prince was close, relaxed. It was time to strike. “Speaking of Eastern… The one who left with Daniel, she has Eastern eyes.”
    Baldair stiffened, and it told Erion everything. “What of it?”
    “Just an odd mix in the West.” Erion made a show of sipping his mug. “Much about her is odd. Much about your reaction to her has also been odd.”
    “My reacting to a woman is not odd.”
    “But she’s not your type.” Erion knew Baldair’s type: curvy, full-lipped, strong, tall, and generally breathtaking. The young woman who went by the name Serien Leral was none of these things. “She’s the type you make sport of to get a rise out of when you’re bored.”
    “Truer than you know.” Baldair laughed more to himself than anyone else, looking beyond the Camp Palace in which they sat. Erion wondered what memory of the woman he’d triggered in the prince. “She’s more like family, I suppose.”
    “Family?” Erion considered this for a long moment. “A new potential recruit for the Golden Guard?”
    “She’s shaping up with skill enough,” Baldair agreed. “But, no, my brother would char me should I do something that he could perceive in the slightest as laying claim to the girl.”
    Now, that was an interesting bit of information. In all the time Erion had known Aldirk he’d been an incredibly reserved noble. Really, it was impressive how close he managed to keep things to his chest. Erion would never give a Ci’Dan the pleasure, but he considered Aldrik to be a role-model prince for both Empire and Mhashan.
    “Your brother…” Erion shifted the conversation as gently as possible. The golden haired prince stared into his mug as though it held every secret of the universe. He sighed heavily and shook his head.
    “There’s been no further word. I’m sure Jax told you what Elecia sent?”
    Erion nodded.
    “I know no more than that.”
    The royal family was, indeed, in turmoil. Baldair’s brow was not prepared to ever wear the crown and Erion knew well that the younger prince didn’t even want it. Erion sighed heavily. He’d been stubborn about hunting down the truth of Serien Leral, but the secrecy began to make sense. If Aldrik would no longer ascend the throne there would be mass uncertainty. The West would be none too pleased by the notion, even if they’d lost their connection to the throne due to the elder prince falling in battle. There would be questioning of Baldair’s capability to lead. And the North would see the Empire as fragile as it likely would be if such a truth came to pass.
    Erion would need to move carefully for the